The present invention relates to caskets, and particularly to a blank that can be formed into a lightweight casket suitable for cremation and interment ceremonies. More particularly, the present invention relates to a generally planar blank that can be easily shipped and can be readily formed into a body containment portion of a casket suitable for receiving the remains of the deceased. The present invention also relates to a casket lid for covering the body containment portion of the casket.
The disposal of the remains of the deceased can be accomplished by several means including burial and cremation. Providing a casket made from lightweight and inexpensive materials such as corrugated cardboard or the like for the disposal of such remains is known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,969,798 to Sahlin; U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,455 to Elder; U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,484 to Woedl et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,076 to Kay et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,134 to Kay; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,370 to Elder as well as Japanese Publications Hei 3[1991]-198852, Hei 3[1991]-88517, Hei 4[1992]-3729, and Hei 4[1992]-3730 to Takashi Makino all disclose caskets that can be made from lightweight materials.
In addition, it is known to construct a shell or base of a casket from a planar blank sheet. For example, the Sahlin '798 patent, the Elder '455 patent, the Woedl et al. '484 patent, and the Elder '370 patent all disclose planer blank sheets suitable for being formed into a casket. What is needed is a lightweight casket that exhibits high strength to avoid structural failure during use, that is made from inexpensive materials, and that is suitable for burial and cremation of the remains of a deceased.
According to the present invention a blank is provided for folding into a body containment portion of a casket. The blank includes a core having a top surface and a bottom surface. The core is divided into a first section and a second section that is spaced apart from the first section to form an elongated gap therebetween. The blank further includes a first stabilizing surface element positioned to lie beneath the core and attached to the bottom surfaces of the first and second sections of the core.
The blank also includes a second stabilizing surface element that is attached to the top surface of the core. The second stabilizing surface element has a bridge portion covering the gap between the first and second sections of the core so that the first section of the core, the second section of the core, the first stabilizing surface element, and the bridge portion of the second stabilizing surface element cooperate to define an elongated space. The first stabilizing surface element and the bridge portion are both bendable adjacent to the space so that the blank can be bent along the space.
The longitudinally extending core can be made from either a closed-cell material or an open-cell material. In preferred embodiments, the core is an open-cell material having a plurality of cylindrically shaped cells. The walls of the cylindrically shaped cells extend in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the first and second stabilizing surface elements. Typically, the cells are interconnected and are arranged to form a honeycomb pattern.
The core cooperates with the stabilizing surface elements to provide the blank and the casket made therefrom with structural rigidity. The core material operates to resist shear forces so that caskets made from such sandwiched blanks can be carried without buckling. At the same time, the stabilizing surface elements resist the bending forces acting on the sandwich. While the first and second stabilizing surface elements cooperate with the core to cause the blank to resist bending, the space between the first and second sections of the core provides a selected area along which the blank may be bent when forming the blank into a body containment portion of a casket.
The second stabilizing surface element covers the entire top surface of the core of the blank as well as covering the space between the first and second sections of the core. When the blank is formed into the body containment portion, the second stabilizing surface element becomes a continuous, seamless inner wall for the lightweight casket.
Additionally, the second stabilizing surface element can be provided with a coating of a water repellent material that prevents the penetration of water through the second stabilizing surface element. The seamless and waterproof inner wall of the casket prevents liquids that may collect on the second stabilizing surface element from seeping through the casket walls and passing out of the casket.
In addition, the core of the blank in accordance with the present invention is typically arranged so that once the blank is folded into a body containment portion, core material is present to reinforce the bottom of the casket, the two spaced-apart elongated sides of the casket, and the two transverse ends of the casket. Also, support inserts, rails, and stiffeners that may be desired for the body containment section or for a lid of the casket can be formed to include a core having first and second opposing surfaces, a stabilizing surface element attached to the first surface, and the second surface attached to the body containment section or the lid of the casket.
Additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.